Al-Qaeda criticised Khartoum as "spineless" for allowing UN-AU assessment mission into Sudan

A report by Reuters Opheera McDoom today, points out that Al-Qaeda criticised Khartoum as "spineless" for allowing UN-AU assessment mission into Sudan. And the Malaysia Sun tells us al-Qaeda's deputy discussed Egypt, where he is from, and Darfur:

Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaida's deputy, made a brief appearance on al-Jazeera TV Friday mentioning Iraqi insurgent leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi but not his death.

The BBC said al-Zawahiri's main topic was the referendum on statehood by Palestinians, which he said should be rejected by Muslims.

He also discussed the political situation in Egypt, where he's from and the situation in the Darfur region of Sudan.

He praised al-Zarqawi but making no mention of his death indicated the tape was made before the U.S. air strike Wednesday that killed the Iraqi insurgent leader.

Darfur: "If a UN force is sent here, I will call for jihad," warned Muwad Jalalabin, chief of the Barty tribe

At long last, we are hearing news of the tribal leaders in Sudan. A BBC report today reveals UN ambassadors in Sudan have met with strong opposition from tribal leaders to the deployment of troops in Darfur, including threats of holy war. Excerpt:

Khartoum has made clear that it would prefer the AU peacekeepers to be given more support rather than allow a UN force into the region.

UN officials have stressed they want to work alongside the Sudanese government and not take over peacekeeping efforts.

Tribal chiefs in Darfur have also expressed resistance to the idea.

"If a UN force is sent here, I will call for jihad," warned Muwad Jalalabin, chief of the Barty tribe.

Any deployment of non-African forces in the region would be considered as "foreign occupation", he told the reporters in el-Fasher, the main town in north Darfur.

Osman Kebir, governor of northern Darfur, also voiced opposition to the UN proposal, telling the Reuters news agency that the region needed humanitarian assistance but "not troops".

Their comments came as members of Security Council delegation toured Darfur and met with tribal leaders, relief workers and government officials over the proposal.

My hopes are that the African Union Mission in Darfur receives all the support it needs from the UN and NATO, with permission from Khartoum. Tribal leaders run the Janjaweed. Only they can sort it out. It's time they stepped up to the plate. My guess is Khartoum can't manage it otherwise they would have done it by now because of all the billions of dollars staked on peace. The world is watching. We need to hear more from the tribal leaders, their point of view and what it is they can do to help the millions of defenceless women and children in Sudan and Chad - and resolve the battles over drinking water, land and livestock.

UN Security Council, in Darfur, finds opposition

Tribal leaders on Friday rejected the possibility of UN peacekeepers replacing African Union (AU) forces in Darfur, with one chief threatening a "holy war" if non-African troops come to the Sudanese region, AFP (Edith Lederer) reported June 9 - excerpt:

Mowadh Jalaladin, a representative of the Barty tribe which he said has about 250,000 members, said handing over to a UN force "would inaugurate foreign occupation and intervention" and remind Sudanese of their colonial past, echoing earlier government rhetoric that has fanned anti-UN sentiment.

The cry also has been taken up by Islamic militants.

The Al-Jazeera satellite channel on Friday broadcast a videotape by the deputy leader of al-Qaida, Ayman al-Zawahri, in which he said the UN Security Council visit to Sudan was "to prepare to occupy and divide it." In a tape aired on Arab television in April, al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden urged followers to fight any U.N. peacekeeping force in Sudan.

If a UN force comes to Darfur, Jalaladin said, "we are declaring jihad against it.

"It means death. It means defending Sudan and Islam," Jalaladin said.

"The root causes of the Darfur conflict are the doing of the Jewish organizations who financed this armed rebellion," he claimed. "We don't want the Security Council to be an instrument of the ugly undertakings of the United States of America."

Another tribal chief, Barwd Dusa, took a much more moderate stance but still favored keeping African troops in this vast western region about the size of France.

"We would like for the United Nations to help the African Union in supporting the troops of the African Union in order to enforce the peace agreement on the ground," said Dusa, who claims his Zagawa tribe also has about 250,000 people.

With the May 5 agreement "our lives changed, we changed, our mind-set changed and we are feeling more reassured and we celebrated ... ," he said. "The overwhelming majority of the population of Darfur in general wants peace."

He urged the two rebel groups refusing to sign the agreement to drop their opposition "because we cannot take any more war and any more instability."

Ibrahim Abdurazig, leader of North Darfur's National Youth Association, also called for the rebel holdouts to sign the agreement and for an "African solution."

The African Union force "respects the customs and moral values" of the Darfur people, "and they don't want any foreigners to meddle," he said.

The 15 council ambassadors were greeted at the airport by over 100 government officials and tribal leaders dressed in traditional white robes and turbans and colorfully dressed women shouting "Alahu Akbar," or "God is Great."

Osman Yusouf Kibir, the governor of North Darfur, told reporters that the Darfur leaders had agreed with the council on many issues and welcomed its support.

Asked about Jalaladin's threat of "jihad," or holy war, he said the possibility of a UN force was being discussed and "we fully respect what transpires out of the interaction between the government and the international community."

Britain's UN Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry, who is leading the delegation, said the council is trying to make sure the peace agreement is implemented and that conditions in Darfur improve.

"What is vital is that there should be a rapid improvement in the security situation here, especially for the women, and that the humanitarian access must be better assured," he said.

See June 9 2006 DPA report: UN peacekeepers not wanted: Darfuri leaders

Joint UN-AU team of 40 arrive in Khartoum today to begin planning for strengthening AU Mission in Darfur

A United Nations mission arrived in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, today to begin planning for the deployment of UN peacekeepers to end three years of fighting in the western region of Darfur, Bloomberg reported June 9 - excerpt:

The team of 40 people from the UN and the African Union is being led by Undersecretary General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guehenno and will visit Darfur and hold talks with senior government officials over a period of 18 days, said Jim Landale, a spokesman for the UN mission.

"The goal of the mission is to look at what can be done to strengthen the African Union force mission now and plan for a possible takeover by a United Nations peacekeeping mission," Landale said today in an interview in Khartoum.

The peace deal gives the rebels the right to appoint a senior assistant to the president, formally the fourth-highest position in government, and one state governor in Darfur and two deputy governors. They also have 12 seats in the National Assembly. Regional elections are to be held within three years.

The government committed itself to disarm militias known as the Janjaweed by mid-October, to integrate former rebel fighters into the armed forces, and to contribute $700 million to a regional development fund in the next three years.

UN Security Council mission visits S Sudan for talks on CPA, Darfur rebels and LRA

On June 8, 2006 UN Security Council members met with southern Sudanese President Salva Kiir, First Vice-President Riek Machar and other senior officials for discussions that focused on the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the Sudanese government and the rebels of western Sudan's Darfur region.

They also discussed the Ugandan rebel Lord's Resistance Army. Full report UN News Centre June 8, 2006.

AU says four Darfur faction leaders back peace agreement

The leaders were named as Abdel Rahman Musa Abbaker (chief negotiator for the SLM/A Abdul Wahid), Ibrahim Madibo (chief negotiator for the SLM/A Abdul Wahid for power-sharing), Ustaz Abdel Raheem Adam Abdel Raheem Abu Risha (general secretary for JEM, Southern Darfur) and Commander Adam Saleh Abbaker (representative of the military commanders of SLM/A Abdul Wahid).

Full report DPA via ReliefWeb June 9, 2006 [hat tip Coalition for Darfur]

Jun 9 2006 VOA President of new rebel faction "JEM Aburisha" is Abdurahman Adam Abdurahman Aburish

Jun 9 2006 AFP Abdurahman Musa Abbakar leads splinter wing of Nur's SLM

Staunch American liberal interventionist rethinks Darfur after reading David Rieff"s "Moral Blindness: The Case Against Troops for Darfur"

Excerpt from blog entry at Voices on Genocide Prevention June 7, 2006:

Anne-Marie Slaughter has a rather unsettling blog entry at TPM Cafe. She's the Dean of the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton and widely regarded as a brilliant thinker on international relations. But in this entry she states that although she previously has supported NATO intervention in Darfur, David Rieff's recent piece in the New Republic gave her pause. He pointed out some of the complexities involved in Western intervention, leading her to conclude that "we need to rethink where and how we apply that pressure" on the Government of Sudan.

Excerpt from blog entry Rethinking Darfur by Anne-Marie Slaughter:

I have been a staunch liberal interventionist on issues like Darfur. Lee, Ivo and I all participated (with Tod Lindberg) on the working group of the 2005 UN-US Task Force charged with looking at policy toward Darfur and all strongly recommended a UN Resolution authorizing NATO support of AU efforts and failing that, direct NATO intervention. I have also been a strong supporter of Nick Kristoff's repeated calls for action.

But two items in the last week have given me pause. First is from David Rieff, whom John and I have debated before on this site. David has a strong and thought-provoking piece in the The New Republic entitled "Moral Blindness."

- - -

May 28 2006 Moral Blindness: The Case Against Troops for Darfur (by David Rieff) - and "How to avoid another Iraqi quagmire in Sudan."

May 31 2006 Sudan Watch Nasty Eric 'insurgent loving' Reeves uses his poison pen to hurl insults at David Rieff (and everyone else except the rebels)

UN peacekeepers not wanted: Darfuri leaders

Local leaders from northern Darfur have threatened that UN peacekeepers may face violence if they enter the region as part of a peacekeeping force, Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported June 9, 2006. Excerpt:

Their remarks followed a meeting between the governor of north Darfur and a 15-member delegation from the UN Security Council, which arrived in the Darfur on Friday, following a visit to the Sudanese capital Khartoum.

"The people here are Muslims and they don't want international intervention here because it complicates the local traditions," local council member Ali Tango told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

"The people don't want foreigners to come in here," Tango told dpa. "Look at how Afghanistan and Iraq deteriorated."

In reality, a UN mission would likely be a re-hatting of the African Union (AU) force presently on the ground.

"The Security Council will do everything possible to insure that a UN mission with the consent of the government of Sudan comes to Darfur as soon as possible," head of the delegation Emyr Parry-Jones told reporters following his meeting with Governor Yousef Osman Kibir.

Delegates also met with representatives of some 2 million displaced Darfuris who are currently languishing in refugee camps. They did not however, visit the camps in this area themselves.

Darfur SLM-Nur urges UN to protect Darfur refugees

Sudan Tribune report June 9, 2006 - excerpt:

The Rebel Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdelwahid al-Nur welcomed the Security Council visit to the refugee camps in Sudanese Darfur and Chad, the SLM urged the United Nations to protect the affected Darfur civilians.

In a press release issued Thursday the SLM-al-Nur renewed its rejection for the African Union brokered peace deal signed on 5 May between the Sudanese government and the SLM-Minawi faction. The rebel group repeated appeals for UN mediation to settle Darfur conflict.

The SLM also raises for the first time the question the, Tribal Lands Ownership, and call for its reinstallation.

Below the text of the SLM/A Press Satement

See Full report. Note, Press Statement signed by Jaffer Monro, Spokesperson and Press Secretary, SLM/A. For more info regarding above Press Release, please contact: Nouri Abdalla, SLM/A, GSM: +254-72-752-2952 Email: nouriabdalla@yahoo.com

Darfur JEM rebels emerge as key to east Sudan peace

Sudan Tribune report June 8, 2006 excerpt:

Rebel group from arid eastern Sudan is due finally to start peace talks with Khartoum next week but the exclusion of Darfur-based Islamic rebels may bring yet more misery to the long-neglected region.

The Eastern Front, comprising rebels from the region’s largest ethnic group - the Beja - and Rashidiya Arabs, are taking part in the negotiations in the Eritrean capital on Tuesday 13 June.

But the meeting's outcome may be decided by the increasingly effective Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), a moderate Islamist rebel group hitherto mainly active in the western region of Darfur, where it rejected a peace deal signed by the larger Sudan Liberation Movement last month.

The Eastern Front controls a slice of territory on the Sudanese-Eritrean border around the town of Hamesh Koreb and has been involved in low-intensity guerrilla activity against the Khartoum government for years.

While the Eastern Front has similar aims to its counterparts in Darfur - autonomy and greater control over their region's resources - their newfound allies in the JEM demand a seat on the presidency, key to eventual national power.

The latest attack, on a government convoy on May 2, is believed to have been carried out by the JEM alone.

Suliman Baldo of Brussels-based think-tank, the International Crisis Group, said that such attacks showed the JEM could thwart the peace process in the east if its demands were not satisfied.

"The attack on May 2 shows the potential for spoiler action in eastern Sudan, that there could be an even greater conflict because the government is not going to invite the JEM to negotiations in Asmara," he said.

"They may be inclined to do more operations like this."

A Western security contractor familiar with the situation said the JEM fighters in the area were also showing unprecedented expertise. Full report.

Beja Congress calls for UN participation in Eastern Sudan talks

East Sudan rebels Press Release signed by Abu Amna, Beja Congress, Eastern Sudan, email address: drabuamna@maktoob.com

Abdurahman Musa Abbakar leads splinter wing of Nur's SLM

AFP report Dissident Darfur Rebels Sign AU Peace Deal- via Defense News June 8, 2006 - excerpt:

"With this declaration we are committing ourselves to the agreement in the same way as the other signatories, and are hoping that it allows peace in Darfur," said a leader of the SLM/A faction, Abdurahman Musa Abbakar.

A leader of the dissident JEM faction said the final decision to sign the pact was a "historic moment" for Sudan.

"I want to invite all people to adopt this peace agreement because this agreement belongs to all Sudanese and their neighbors," said Abdurahman Adam Abdurahman Aburisha.

Note, meanwhile a report today by VOA says holdout rebels loyal to those refusing to sign Darfur Peace Agreement are demanding international intervention and their "rights first and then peace later." See http://voanews.com/english/2006-06-08-voa49.cfm

President of new rebel faction "JEM Aburisha" is Abdurahman Adam Abdurahman Aburish

The French news agency, AFP, reports a member, Abdurahman Adam Abdurahman Aburisha of the JEM splinter group is calling himself president of the new faction, while re-naming it after himself JEM Aburisha. VOA News June 8, 2006.

NATO ready to lend more help to AU in Darfur

NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer welcomed on Thursday a request by the African Union for more logistical help for its troops in Darfur, saying the alliance would study what it could do.

NATO has been supplying airlift and training to AU troops and made it clear it would extend that support if an AU request was forthcoming.

NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said he received a letter this week from AU chief Alpha Oumar Konare requesting an extension of help and added that he had put Konare's request to a meeting of alliance defence ministers in Brussels.

"We are now moving on with this," he said after the meeting, adding that NATO logistical support could range from advice on operations to help in setting up an operations centre. - Reuters June 8, 2006.



Photo: UK Defence Secretary Desmond Browne, left, looks across the room as he sits next to his U.S. counterpart Donald Rumsfeld during a meeting of NATO defense ministers at the alliance headquarters in Brussels, Thursday June 8, 2006. NATO defence ministers on Thursday will discuss, among other issues, the expansion of NATOs peacekeeping force in Afghanistan and the Alliances operations and missions in Darfur, Iraq and Kosovo. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Factions of JEM and Nur's SLM signed Darfur peace today

AP report via Aljazeera June 8, 2006 - excerpt:

Breakaway factions from two Darfur rebel groups that rejected last month's peace accord signed a declaration of commitment to the deal Thursday.

"We shall be bound by the letter and spirit of the (Darfur Peace Accord) and shall assume and implement the relevant obligations therein, especially those related to the comprehensive cease-fire agreement," the letter said.

"The former holdouts should do their utmost to urge their respective members and fellow Darfurians to join the peace process," the African Union Peace and Security Commissioner Said Djinnit said after the signing ceremony in Addis Ababa.

UPATE: Jun 10 2006 Sudan Tribune report Dissident rebels ink commitment to Darfur peace accord - Asmara statement is signed by Abdelwhaid al-Nur of SLM, Khalil Ibrahim of JEM, Ahmed Ibrahim Diraige, the chairman of the Federal Democratic Alliance (FDA) and former Darfur governor, Dr Sharif Harir from FDA and former SLM leading member and Khamis Abdallah Abakar the former SLA vice-president and leader of the Massaleit component of the SLA faction who was among the 19 commanders wanted to freeze Abdel Wahid out earlier on during the 7th round in December 2005.

Thirty representatives, including commanders and politicians from the splinter wings of the SLM/A and JEM, signed the declaration at AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital. "With this declaration, we are committing ourselves to the agreement in the same way as the other signatories and are hoping that it allows peace in Darfur," said Abdurahman Musa Abbakar of the SLM/A.

Dissident Darfur rebels to sign peace deal tomorrow

AFP report just in via Mail & Guardian - excerpt:

Dissident factions of two Darfur rebel groups that have rejected a peace deal for the troubled western Sudanese region are to sign onto the pact this week, African Union officials said on Wednesday.

Splinter wings of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) are to sign a specially prepared annex to the May 5 AU-mediated peace accord here on Thursday, the officials said.

"The dissident JEM and SLM rebels are going to sign a declaration on Thursday saying that they support the Darfur Peace Agreement," said Assane Ba, a spokesperson for the Addis Ababa-based pan-African body.

"The declaration will then be annexed to the original accord and will bring these rebels into line with the other signatories," he said.

Representatives of the two groups have been in the Ethiopian capital since last week when a May 31 deadline for hold-outs to the agreement to sign or face possible sanctions passed with no new signers.

They said on Friday they were ready to accept the deal but were waiting until the AU came up with a mechanism for them to join the peace deal.

The AU Peace and Security Council is due to meet on Thursday to approve the annex to the agreement, which is hoped will put further pressure on the remaining hold-outs to sign, diplomats said.

"For the AU, this serves to marginalise those who have not yet signed and keep up pressure for them to join the process," one African diplomat told Agence France-Presse on condition of anonymity.

Only one Darfur rebel group, the main wing of the SLA, has thus far signed the peace deal with Khartoum and AU officials have become increasingly frustrated with the refusal of the JEM and an SLA faction led by Abdel Wahid Mohammed al-Nur to accept it.

AU commission chief Alpha Oumar Konare told reporters on Thursday that discussions with al-Nur's faction were ongoing.

"We maintain contacts," he said. "We received a message from Abdel Wahid saying he is ready to come, but he has some conditions. Now we have to examine those conditions."

Darfur peace force to be boosted with 3,000 troops

An extra 3,000 peacekeepers are to be sent to Darfur in a bid to contain the raging violence, the African Union has told the BBC. Full report.

UN Security Council delegation meets at AU HQ - UN peacekeeping chief at AU HQ to set up joint UN-AU preparatory mission

Photo: British Ambassador to the UN Sir Emyr Jones Parry boards the aircraft as the United Nations Security Council prepares to depart from Khartoum, Sudan to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as they tour the region on a fact-finding mission about the situation in Darfur, June 7, 2006. (Reuters/Chip East)



Photo: French Ambassador to the UN Jean-Marc de La Sabliere (L) and British Ambassador to the UN Emyr Jones Parry speak as the UN Security Council flies from Khartoum, Sudan to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia June 7, 2006. (Reuters/Chip)

AFP report June 7, 2006 via Africast.com - excerpt:

A United Nations Security Council team met on Wednesday with African Union officials at AU HQ in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, to discuss the possible handover to the UN of an AU peacekeeping force in Darfur.

Diplomats said the 15-member delegation would meet AU Commission chief Alpha Oumar Konare, members of the pan-African body's Peace and Security Council and officials from countries that have contributed troops to the Darfur mission.

"It is a formal meeting with the AU to congratulate it on efforts to stabilise Darfur and reiterate that the AU continues to play a central role, even if it transfers the force to the UN," one diplomat told Agence France-Press.

Khartoum said only that it would give the proposed handover "step-by-step" consideration, despite repeated AU requests for a rapid transition given its inability to sustain the 7 000-strong Amis force in Darfur.

In Khartoum, the leader of the Security Council delegation, Britain's UN ambassador Emyr Jones-Parry, repeated assurances that the move would not be made without the approval of the Sudanese government.

Still, UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Marie Guehenno was expected in Addis Ababa later on Wednesday to help set up a joint UN-AU preparatory mission that would evaluate requirements for the switch if Sudan eventually agrees.

The team is currently on a nine-day tour of African hotspots and after Ethiopia will go to Darfur, Chad and then the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Photo: A guard from Rwanda stands on the roof of the UN Mission to Sudan (UNMIS) in Khartoum June 6, 2006, as the United Nations Security Council meets inside during their fact finding mission regarding the situation in Darfur. (Reuters/Chip)




Photo: Heavily armed Sudanese policemen arrive in a four-wheel drive truck outside he Friendship Hall in Khartoum, where the UN Security Council meets with Sudanese ministers, in Khartoum, Tuesday, June 6, 2006. The Sudanese government told the UN Security Council Tuesday that it would not give immediate approval for UN peacekeepers for Darfur, but was willing to talk about a step seen as key to a solution in the restive western region. (AP Photo/Abd Raouf)



Photo: (From L-R) Ghanian Ambassador to the UN Nana Effah-Aprenteng, British Ambassador to the UN Emyr Jones Parry, Chinese Ambassador to the UN Wang Guangya, Peruvian Ambassador to the UN Oswaldo De Rivero and Argentine Ambassador to the UN Cesar Mayoral lead members of the UN Security Council from a meeting with Sudanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Lam Akol Ajawin (not pictured) in Khartoum June 6, 2006. (Reuters/Chip East)



Photo: British Ambassador to the UN Emyr Jones Parry (L) and Ghanian Ambassador to the UN Nana Effah-Aprenteng, along with other members of the UN Security Council, leave the UN Mission to Sudan (UNMIS) headquarters after a meeting in Khartoum June 6, 2006. (Reuters/Chip)



Photo: Chinese Ambassador to the UN Wang Guangya (L) and other members of the UN Security Council leave the UN Mission to Sudan (UNMIS) headquarters after a meeting in Khartoum June 6, 2006. (Reuters/Chip)



Photo: Members of the United Nations Security Council, including (R-L) Peruvian Ambassador to the UN Oswaldo De Rivero, French Ambassador to the UN Jean-Marc de La Sabliere, British Ambassador to the UN Emyr Jones Parry and American representative Jackie Wolcott Sanders, arrive from Khartoum, Sudan, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to meet with the African Union, June 7, 2006. (Reuters/Chip)



Photo: Former Ethiopian Ambassador to the UN Teruneh Zenna (L) greets members of the UN Security Council, including Tanzanian Ambassador to the UN Augustine Mahiga (2nd L-R), Greek Ambassador to the UN Adamantios Vassilakis and Chinese Ambassador to the UN Wang Guangya as they arrive from Khartoum, Sudan to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to meet with the African Union, June 7, 2006. (Reuters/Chip)



Photo: Chairman of the African Union Alpha Oumar Konare, former President of Mali, speaks to the United Nations Security Council in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia June 7, 2006. (Chip East/Reuters)

AU expects 10,000 peacekeepers in Darfur - Head of UN peacekeeping travels to Sudan - AU to meet rebels objecting to their leader's rejection of peace

Reuters report June 7, 2006 excerpt:

"Before the UN actually takes over the African Mission in Sudan needs to be reinforced and we will be working together to make sure AMIS is reinforced," Britain's UN ambassador, Emyr Jones Parry, said after a meeting with Alpha Oumar Konare, chairman of the AU commission.

Konare, according to a council member at the meeting, expected more troops from Ghana, Rwanda and Nigeria to make a total of 10,000 soldiers and observers in Darfur. He also wants back-up support, such as transport and communications, from NATO countries.

However, Konare stressed he did not want Western soldiers on the ground, which Sudanese officials regard as invaders, one envoy reported, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Jones Parry said the AU reinforcements were needed for a tougher mandate to protect civilians, agreed in the peace pact negotiated by the AU in Abuja, Nigeria.

'INDEED CONFIDENT'

Konare told reporters he would like UN peacekeepers in Darfur as soon as possible but only after permission from the Sudanese government.

He said was "indeed confident" that this would happen, adding that the African Union and the United Nations were in full agreement on how to proceed.

Sudan has agreed to a military planning team comprising UN and AU officials.

Undersecretary-General Jean-Marie Guehenno, head of UN peacekeeping, begins his mission at AU headquarters on Wednesday before heading to Sudan.

The AU is expected to hold a high-level meeting in Gabon later this month to discuss Darfur and on Thursday is expected to meet members of rebel groups who object to their leaders' rejection of the peace pact.

UPDATE: Jun 7 2006 AP report via Sudan Tribune - African Union agrees UN takeover of Darfur peacekeeping: Djinnat said several battalions are likely to be added to the AU force. "I can tell you that it could be raised to the level of 10,000," he told The Associated Press.

A member of the Security Council delegation echoed the 10,000 figure and said the additional troops would likely come from Rwanda, Nigeria and Ghana, and that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization would likely provide helicopters and other logistical support. The AU police force in Darfur will also likely be doubled from about 1,000 to 2,000, the council delegate said.

Joint UN-AU assessment team due in Khartoum Friday

AngolaPress report (Khartoum) June 7, 2006:

A joint assessment team of the United Nations and the African Union (UN) is to arrive in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Friday to hold consultations with the Sudanese government on the UN's role in Sudan's troubled western Darfur region, a Sudanese official announced on Tuesday.

Jamal Mohammed Ibrahim, spokesman of the Sudanese Foreign Ministry, made the announcement following a meeting between the ministry and a UN delegation which is currently visiting Sudan.

Ibrahim told reporters that the two sides agreed during the meeting that the international society should play a role in Darfur.

"The two sides have stressed the importance of the role which the international society could play to help implement the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) and strengthen the efforts exerted by the signatories of the DPA to realize the security and stability in Darfur," said the spokesman.

He also said that the UN delegation expressed understanding of the views of the Sudanese government concerning the issue.

Khartoum has called for international support and help for the AU peacekeeping forces currently deployed in Darfur so that the troops can continue their mission there.

"Members of the UN delegation also reiterated the world body`s respect for the sovereignty of Sudan and that any operation of the UN in Sudan should not be launched without an agreement of the Sudanese government," Ibrahim added.

On May 25, the Sudanese government agreed to led in the joint UN-AU team following a meeting between Sudanese President Omer al- Bashir and UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi.

The joint assessment team is demanded by a UN Security Council resolution adopted on May 16, which calls for a quick deployment of UN peacekeepers in Darfur.

Brahimi said that the team was to evaluate requirements for a transition of the peacekeeping mission to the UN from the AU.

The Sudanese government, meanwhile, refused any military role of the UN in Darfur, affirming that a peace agreement, which the government signed with a main Darfur rebel faction on May 5, did not include in its security arrangements any role for the UN or any other party except the AU.

Photo: The UN flag flies outside the UN Mission to Sudan (UNMIS) in Khartoum June 6, 2006, as the United Nations Security Council meets inside during their fact finding mission regarding the situation in Darfur. REUTERS/Chip East (SUDAN)



Photo: Members of the United Nations Security Council meet with Sudan's Minister of Council of Ministers Deng Alor (C) in Khartoum June 6, 2006, as the council tours the region on a fact finding mission about the situation in Darfur. REUTERS/Chip East (SUDAN)



Photo: Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, center, talks as Britain's UN Ambassador Sir Emyr Jones Parry, who is leading the UN mission, first left, looks on during their meeting, in Khartoum, Tuesday, June 6, 2006. (AP)

Jun 6, 2006 Malaysia Sun - UN to coach African Union on Darfur: The United Nations is stepping in to determine if UN peacekeepers should augment African Union troops in dealing with unrest in Darfur.